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Phillies name Peter Fatse hitting coach, add Joe Cronin as assistant

Philadelphia has replaced Kevin Long after a season in which its run total fell. Fatse arrives after coaching with Boston and consulting for Tampa Bay.

NewsJaws DeskEditorial desk

Published 27 Oct 2026, 20:28 GMT2 min read

The Philadelphia Phillies dugout at Citizens Bank Park. — File photograph of the Philadelphia Phillies dugout at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, in 2008. Phillies Dugout at Citizens Bank Park (2372064120), Peter Bond from Providence, USA (resized and converted to WebP). CC BY-SA 2.0.Image source Image licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

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The Philadelphia Phillies named Peter Fatse their hitting coach and hired Joe Cronin as an assistant hitting coach on Tuesday, October 27, according to the Associated Press. The appointments follow a season in which Philadelphia scored fewer runs than in any of the previous four years, according to NESN, despite reaching the playoffs for a fifth straight season.

Fatse replaces Kevin Long, whom the Phillies fired at the end of the season, the AP reported. Edwar Gonzalez will remain on the staff as an assistant hitting coach alongside Cronin. Philadelphia was eliminated by the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild Card Series.

Philadelphia’s run production in 2026

The Phillies scored 713 runs in 2026, ranking 16th among Major League Baseball teams, NESN reported. They scored between 747 and 796 runs in each of the preceding four seasons. The figures put the hitting staff change in context, although they do not establish what caused the decline.

Manager Don Mattingly welcomed Fatse’s appointment. ‘He has a track record of being a great communicator who prioritizes collaboration,’ Mattingly said, according to the AP. Mattingly said Fatse’s skills and approach made him a good fit for the organization.

Fatse and Cronin’s coaching backgrounds

Fatse most recently worked as a hitting consultant for the Tampa Bay Rays, a role he began in June, the AP reported. Before that, he was the Boston Red Sox hitting coach for parts of five seasons, from 2022 to 2026. NESN reported that Boston dismissed him in April along with manager Alex Cora and other coaches after a difficult start to the season.

Cronin also worked for the Red Sox. The Portland Press Herald reported that he joined Boston’s organization as a player development intern in 2021, later became a development coach with the Greenville Drive and joined the major league team as a clubhouse analyst in 2023. He subsequently served as Boston’s major league hitting strategy coach. Cronin was among the staff members dismissed by the Red Sox in April.

A Scarborough, Maine, native, Cronin played at Scarborough High School and Boston College before spending four seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization, the Press Herald reported. He now joins a Phillies hitting staff led by Fatse and including the returning Gonzalez.